Floor-finishing apparatus



A. W. GREEN.

FLOOR FINISHING APPARATUS.

APPLlcATfoN FILED Dc.15.192o.

1,401,400, Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

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INVENTDF- A CUM @AU/w. -E'fedwmmy -ATT A. W. GREEN.

FLOOR FINISHING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. l5, 1920- Patented D00. 27, 1921.

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PArENrfoFFicE.

ANDREW W. GREEN',v OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

mon-rnfrsnme Arrmrus.

To all lwhom 'it may concern.'

-Be it known that I, ANDREW W. GREEN' f the city of Toronto, 'in the county of \York, Province of Ontario, Canada, asubject of the King of Great Britain, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Floor-Finishing A paratus, of

the amount of manual labor` to a minimum.

A still further object is` to devise a floor finishing a paratus vwhich will be easy to o erate an fgood appearance. Further -o jects I have. in' mind will hereinafter appear.

I attain my objects by means of the constructions hereinafter described and illustrated in the drawings in which- Figure 1 isa side elevation, partly in section, lof the apparatus;

Fig. 2 a horizontal section taken in a plane above the carriage;

Fig. 3 a vertical section ofthe fioor finishing tool with the polishing means attached; l

Fig. 4 a side elevation of the brush attachment;

Fig. 5 a vertical section of the fioor finishing tool with the wax carrying pad attached to the floating pad;

Figs. 6 and 7 side elevations of the a paratus having two different floor finis ing tools attached; 'and Fig. 8 a detail in plan of the handle su porting member.

n the drawings like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the dierent figures.

1 is a carriage comprising a frame 2 provided with wheels or suitable liders 3. The carriage is also provided wit a furniture. protector 4 and a handle 5. To the frame 2 is suitabl secured a motor 6 adapted to be connecte to a source of electric supply.

A oor finishing tool 7 suitably mounted on the frame 2 1s ada ted to be rotated b the motor 6. The nishing tool 7 incliides a frame 8 and to the underside of this frame I apply a resilient cushion 9.

Polishing means 10 are provided under- Lying the culhion 9 and preferably cured l be seen speoiauon orrendi-rennt. Patented D ec. 27, 1921. Application lied December 1I, 1,920." Serial No. 431,019. v 4

to the :traine 8 by a strap 11 fastened around the periphery of the frame by a clam 12.

T e resilient cushion 9 is pre erably formed of felt pads 13 and upholsterin v filling 14. A cork buffer pad 15 is pre erably used intermediate the frame `8 and the upper pad 13.

I prefer to rotate the floor finishing tool 7 by the motor 6 in the vfollwing manner: The motor is provided with a depending spindle 16 which as usua1 is held from longitudinal movement in its bearings and the. frame 8 is provided with a;bored hub 17 which is adapted to be sleeved on the end of the spindle 16. A grub screw is provided in the hub and adapted to yforni` a driving connection with' the sy indle. From this arrangement it follows t at as in uch of the weight of the motor and frame may be applied to the brush as experience dictates to secure the best results and further adjustment may be made as wear of the bristles takes lace. This arrangement permits the finis in tool 7 to be vertically adjusted on the splndle. To allow the frame 8 and the pad carried thereby to float relative to the floor and spindle 16, the latter is provided with a keyway 27 which engages the grub screw to rotatethe frame and the pad. `Of course, the frame 2 is provided with a. hole to provide clearance for the hub and spindle.

A felt collar 18 is preferably secured to the upper side of the Vframe 2 and to this collar is secured the motor 6. This construction permits a lon er hub 17 to be used, thus makin the finishing tool steadier when rotated .an also cushions the motor.

I prefer to form a groove 19 in the periphery of the frame 8 to prevent the strap 11 slipping off the frame.

o wax the floor I provide a wax carrying attachment 2O having perforations 21 and adapted to be secured to the floating frame 8. A porous member 22'underl ing the attachment 20 is adapted to sprea the wax evenl on the fioor. It will readily hat by removing the olishing means 10 and securing the attac ment 20 and the porous member 22 to the frame 8 that the apparatus will be converted to a iioor waxer.

The resilient cushion 9 is used to apply pressure to the'wax which has been spread on the upper side of the pad attachment 20, thus squeezing the wax through the perforations 21. prefer when waxlng to remove the filling 14 from the cushion 9 and use the pads 13 which present a rmer pressing surface to the wax. Of course, a thin unpenetrable disk may be lnserted between the lower pad 13 and the wax to keep the lower pad free of wax.

After the floor is waxed I prefer to brush it. For this purpose I may provide a frame 23 provided with a brush 24. Ihe frame 23 is provided with a hub 17 havlng a grub screw adapted to form a drivmg connection with the spindle 16 of the motor.

It will readily be seen that the surface of the floor may be smoothed before waxing by securing sand paper to the under side of the finishing tool 7.

For finishing floors I prefer to mount a plurality of finishing tools on the frame 2, each finishing tool adapted to perform a different operation at the same time thus reducing the amount of time taken to finish the floor and also the manual labor required. Of course the different tools are mounted so that the different operations may be performed in their correct order.

I provide a stud spindle 25 which is journaled on the frame 2 in any suitable manner to allow it to move lengthwise. This stub spindle is adapted t0 carry any type of floor finishing tool hereinbefore described and is also adapted to be rotated by the motor 6 in any suitable mannen This arrangement permits the spindle 25, the frame 8 and the pad carried by the frame to float relative to the floor.

Preferably the stub spindle 25 is rotated by securing a grooved pulley to it and also securing a grooved pulley to the spindle 16. An endless belt is carried by these pulleys to transmit power to the stub spindle 25.

In Fig. 6 I show the stub spindle 25 carrying the frame 8 provided with the waxing attachment 20 and the motor spindle 1 6 carrying the frame 23 provided with the brush 24. Fig. 7 shows the apparatus reversed and the floor finishing tool 7 substituted for the waxing attachment 20.

It is evident that other combinations of tools might be employed to give satisfactory results.

A modification of the handle supporting 'i means is shown in Fig. 7 to allow the handle to swing to any desired angle in a horizon-- pin 31 and swung in a horizontal plane by means of the vertical pin 30. To lock the handle at any desired angle in a horizontal plane the supporting member 28 is provided with holes arranged concentrically with the vertical pin 30, the holes being adapted to receive a depending projection 32 carried by the handle. To change the position of the handle relative to the carriage the handle is first swung upwardlyv to disengage the projection 32. then swung horizontally to the`de'sired position and then lowered to permit the projection to engage the hole.

To prevent dust rising when the device is in use the carriage 1 is provided with depending sides and ends to substantially inclose the finishing tools. One of the depending sides is provided with a hinged door 33 so that the finishingtools may be easily removed or attached to the spindles.

The construction of this machine is such that the spindle 16 may be an extension of the spindle of the motor of'a vacuum cleaner. so that the expense of the machine to any one already possessing a vacuum cleaner is considerably reduced.

If a floor is to be treated with a cleaning fluid, a sponge saturated with the fluid may be placed beneath the pad 13 on the floating frame 8, and held in position by the outer covering and the device run over the floor.

In the operation of this machine I prefer to depend on speed rather than pressure, both in the application of the wax and in polishing. The machine may thus be made light in weight and small in size, thus rendering it particularly adapted for household use and further may be cheaply manufactured.

The mode of operation of the double form of the machine is substantially as follows.

The brush is directly connected to the motor spindle and the waxing attachment to the floating pad. The handle is then adjusted so that the waxing attachment leads and the brush follows, thus effectively distributing the wax applied by the waxing attachment.

After waxing the waxing attachment is removed and the polishing covering 10 applied to the pad on the floating frame 8. The handle is then adjusted so that the polishing means follows the brush and the floor again gone over with the apparatus. The floating of the frame, either when carrying the waxing attachment, the polishing covering or the cleaning attachment is of very great importance as the pressure of the tool on the floor remains constant and the work is always properly performed des ite any unevenness of the floor and wit a minimum of wear 0n the tools. It also follows from the construction described that as much pressure as may be necessary is readily applied to the brush by adjusting it longitudinally on the spindle 16 as hereinbefore described.

The fact that the handle may be adjusted to any horizontal angle enables the operator to work into awkward corners and other places where a device with merely an ordinary bent handle could not operate and thus entirely obviates the l necessity for hand work.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A rotatable floor finishin tool comprising a frame; a resilient cushion adjacent the lower side of said frame; a perforate wax carrying pad secured below the cushion; a porous member secured under the carry ing pad and adapted to spread the wax.

2. In fioor finishing apparatus the combination of a carriage adapted to engage the floor; a motor secured to said carriage and provided with a depending spindle; a brush carried directly on the spindle and vertically ad'ustable thereon; and a fioating pad journaled on said carriage and adapted to be rotated by said motor to yieldingly engage the floor.

3. In fioor finishing apparatus the combination of a carriage provided with fioor finishing means; a supporting member secured to said carriage and provided with holes; a pin vertically 'ournaled in said supporting member han le horizontall journaled on said pin so that the hand e may swing horizontally and vertically; and a depending projection carried on the handle adapted to engage one of the holes. Y

4. In floor finishing apparatus, the combination 0f a carriage adapted to engage the fioor; a motor secured to the carriage and provided with a depending spindle; a brush carried directly on the spindle; means for causing as much of the weight of the carriage and motor as desired to be applied to the brush; and a floating pad 'ournaled on thecarriage and adaptedto e rotated by the motor to yieldingly en` gage the fioor.

5. In fioor finishing apparatus, the combination of a carriage provided with a bearing; a motor secured to the carriage and provided with a depending spindle; a floor nishing tool carried directly on the spindle; a second spindle journaled in the bearing and axially movable therein and adapted to be rotated by the motor; and a frame se. cured to the last mentioned spindle and adapted to carry a floor finishing tool.

6. In floor finishing apparatus, the combination of a carriage provided with a bearing; a motor secured to the carriage and provided with a de ending spindle; a fioor finishing tool carrie directly on the spindle; a second spindle journaled in the bearing and axially movable therein; a floor finishing tool secured to the last mentioned s lndle; a pulley secured to the spindle of tiie motor; a pulley secured to the second spindle; and a belt carried b the pulle s.

Signed at Toronto this llt day of ecember, 1920, in the presence of the two undersigned witnesses.

l ANDREW W. GREEN.

Witnesses:

J. Enw. MA1-ams, V C. W. MARTIN. 

